In Time of Need
by metalfan2680
Summary: Leo & Aeris are high-schoolers in this time line. An unexpected event happens in Aeris's household, and she and her family take up residence in Leo's home. During this time, they discover more about each other. I'm not good with descriptions. Read it, you won't be disappointed :3. Still in progress but updates slowly.
1. Chapter 1

VG Cats ©2001-2010 Scott Ramsoomair

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Make sure you read the description panel when you're done.

"In Times of Need"

Chapter 1

* * *

_Leo reloaded his shotgun. They had just been through a monster horde of Infected. He and Aeris were the last two remaining, Coach and Ellis having died long ago in another freak horde. As he loaded the last shell, he glanced over at Aeris. She had taken a hell of a pounding from a Hunter, and she wasn't acting like herself. She seemed weak and struggled to walk, quivering with every step. "Hey, you all right?"_

_Aeris looked up, blood slowly trickling down her furred white chin. "Mmh. Yeah, I'll be fine." Leo could see that she was having a hard time keeping up. He took a bottle of unbranded pain pills out of his pocket and handed them to her. She eagerly downed a couple, putting the bottle in her jacket pocket. "Thanks, Leo."_

_"No problem. You gonna be all right? 'Cause we gotta keep moving if we want to get to this gun shop." Aeris nodded, noticing she could move a little bit faster now. She reloaded her assault rifle, ensuring there was a fresh round in the chamber and that her laser sight was accurate._

_"Looks like we're here." Leo pushed open the heavy glass door to reveal a plethora of every sort of gun imaginable, as well as explosive ammo, pipe bombs and laser sight attachments. "Better stock up, this will be the last ammo you'll see for a while." Aeris was scouting out the area when she came across a medicine chest full of pills and first-aid kits. Perfect, considering she didn't have enough pills to last, and she was already on her last leg, in desperate need of first-aid._

_"Here, take this and heal up. You're gonna need it." She tossed a first-aid kit to Leo. He decided to heal up now, before they encountered another monster Horde. They walked down the hallway and came to a door that was locked. Leo tried to break it down, to no avail. The intercom system crackled and buzzed as a garbled voice with a thick bayou accent came through._

_"Hey if y'all are tryin' to get outta here, you're gonna need to go past that old convenience store. As for me, I've got everything I need, except some cola. If you can go in there and get me some I'll clear a path for ya."_

_"Cola?!" Leo growled. "Look here, we didn't just risk our lives at the hands of thousands of zombies to get you some fucking pepsi." Aeris put her hand on his shoulder._

_"Leo, calm down. All this guy wants is some coke, and in return for him getting us the fuck out of here, it seems like a fair trade to me."_

_Leo sighed. "Whatever. And you're sure you can get us out of here?"_

_"Positive. The only way out is behind that fuel tanker - I can blow it up and clear a path for ya's," the voice cracked. They both checked their guns were fully loaded and ready to shoot. They opened the back door and headed out toward the convenience store across the block. Aeris reached out to the door and pulled, only to be met by resistance. She pushed, to the same result._

_"It's locked," she groaned with exasperation. Leo instinctively pulled and pushed as well, on the other door, to be met with the same situation._

_"I'm gonna break it," Leo said, raising up his rifle. Aeris stepped back to avoid the shrapnel from the glass door. Leo smashed the butt stock of his shotgun into the glass, causing a resounding shatter to echo across the neighborhood. Accompanied by this was the shrill, sweeping scream of an alarm sounding from inside. Aeris's ears pinned back to the side of her head; she knew exactly what that meant - that they had to hurry, or risk getting slaughtered by the hordes of zombies that were closing in, fast._

_Leo bolted inside, searching frantically for the sugary beverages that the gun shop owner requested. "Cover me!" he barked to Aeris. She nodded and cocked her assault rifle, raising it to her shoulder, following closely to Leo. After a small wave of zombies and what felt like half an hour, Leo picked up a six-pack of cola, pulling out one of his dual pistols in his free paw. He ran out to the front door, trying his best to keep the quickly moving zombies at bay._

_"I got it! Let's go!" he shouted to Aeris. They began to sprint back to the gun store, Leo leading the way and Aeris providing covering fire behind him. The horde seemed to thin out as Aeris blew more zombie brains across the pavement. Within a couple of panicked minutes, they arrived back at the gun store, passing the owner his cola through a small drop-box on the door. The sound of a rifle bolt clicking behind the door was heard, followed by a shot. Suddenly, the overturned fuel tanker in the street behind the shop burst into flames. Leo found it just as appropriate a time as any to slow down and try to catch his breath._

_"Hold up Leo. You hear something?" Aeris asked, her ear flicking gently. There was a sinister-sounding chuckling coming from behind a blue hatchback. "Wait here." Aeris drew her assault rifle to position and slowly walked to one side of the small car, when suddenly she felt a thud on the back of her head. "OH FUCK! LEO, IT'S A JOCKEY!"_

_Without thinking, Leo raised his shotgun and fired a couple of shells into the creature's back, sending him chittering to the ground. "__Fuckin' eh, you all right?" He walked over to her and helped her up. She seemed unharmed, except for the emotional trauma of being head-humped by a mutated midget. At that moment, Leo suddenly found himself unable to breathe. His head began pounding as he tried valiantly to gasp for breath, to no avail. He felt himself being drawn backwards. Before Aeris could get a shot off, she was pounced on by a slender creature clad in black clothing, knocking her gun away, leaving them both helpless. Through all the horror, she heard Leo's last gurgling gasp of air, not long before she succumbed to her own Hunter-inflicted injuries, and everything went blank._

* * *

"Fuck!" Leo shouted into his headset. He and Aeris were playing on a private server, since it was a school night and neither could go to the other's house. "We can never fucking beat this part!"

"Well, maybe if we'd protected the AI players more, they could have helped us out."

Leo scoffed. "We were better off without them anyways. All they did was take all the melee weapons and health packs." He alt-tabbed out of the game, thinking maybe some chilled web-surfing would ease the frustration. "Hey, do you have anything going on Saturday?" Aeris, too, had quit her game, choosing instead to watch some Youtube videos to unwind.

"I don't think so, why?" she responded

"I was wondering if maybe you could come over," Leo suggested. "I just got Modern Warfare 2 and I'm stuck on the campaign." They got together often, and hung out with each other every day at school. They were best friends since they were kittens, and they were basically inseparable now.

"I don't know, I'll have to check my schedule," she answered. "I think we were supposed to go out of town, but I'm not sure."

"Cool. I've tried everything and can't get past that part." Leo glanced at the clock. "Fuck, it's late. I'm gonna log off and get some sleep." It was a little after 11 pm, and they both had school in the morning. "I'll catch you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'm getting kind of tired too... I think I'll get some sleep too. Good night, Leo." Aeris signed out of Steam, and commenced her computer's shutdown. It was very cold in her house tonight, and she searched for a sweater. It was getting to be the middle of October, and the chilly Toronto autumn was quickly making itself at home. Her mother had turned the furnace on a couple of nights ago, but it was a very old unit, and didn't heat the house very well. Leo's parents, on the other hand, just upgraded to a new system, which was part of the reason Aeris loved to go to his house. It always seemed to be the perfect temperature. She stopped herself shortly when she detected a strange smell coming from her furnace's vent, but she shrugged it off as some dust that possibly collected inside the vents. She turned off her bedroom light and crawled into her comfortable bed.

Leo's computer shut itself down with a whirring noise as the fans on his high-end gaming computer case slowed themselves to a halt. He prided himself on his new machine; not just so he could show off to his friends, but mainly the fact that he bought the state-of-the-art hardware with his own money, built the computer himself, installed all the software, and didn't manage to mess anything up. Computers were always a passion for Leo; he always wanted to learn more about how they work, and always wanted to keep his system up-to-date. He stripped down to his boxers, turned his light off and crawled into bed to get whatever sleep he could.

Aeris would never admit it, but she looked forward to seeing Leo at school each day. Even if he was a bit slow, and never made much sense, he was actually manageable when he wasn't getting in trouble, or being a general nuisance. She might even go as far as to call him "cute". It's not surprising though, for cats of opposite genders, who've known each other since infancy, to have a special bond. As she drifted off to sleep, she couldn't help but notice the strange smell coming from her heating vent was becoming stronger and stronger. She tried to convince herself it was just from months of not using it, but it was getting unnerving. She shrugged it off again in favor of the sleep her body so desperately needed.

* * *

_When their lips met, it felt like heaven. She never wanted this moment to end, as she revelled in his warmth and flavor. She had her own unique aura about her that couldn't be matched by any other person or thing in the world, and Leo loved every bit of it. They sat on the edge of his bed, liplocked for a good five minutes before they finally parted. He laid back on his pillows while Aeris snuggled up close to him, resting her paw on his chest, running her fingers through his silken mane. Leo let out a sigh._

_"What's the matter?" she asked._

_Leo looked down into her bright azure eyes. "Nothing." _

_Aeris could tell he was lying. "No, something's wrong."_

_"Nothing's wrong, I promise," he reassured._

_"Leo, come on. I've known you for 14 years, I can tell when something's wrong. Now 'fess up." Admittedly, her demanding tone made him feel uneasy, but just hearing her voice so concerned for his well-being reassured him slightly._

_"It's just... I've loved you for a long time, I've just always been so afraid to tell you. I just don't know why it had to wait this long."_

_"Well.. Leo... you know you could have told me," she said with a giggle. "I mean, what's the worst that could have happened?"_

_He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "With your temper? Lots." Aeris chuckled with him._

_"Well, consider yourself lucky I feel the same way." She leaned in to kiss him again... once, then twice before they were locked in each other's embrace again. Aeris broke the kiss and sat back._

_"What? Did I do something wrong?" Leo asked, puzzled. It was the first time he'd gotten this far with a girl, and he was trying his hardest to impress her._

_"No, you're perfect," Aeris purred. "Something just... doesn't feel right." It was at that moment that Leo's alarm clock started buzzing loudly. She reached for the snooze button (confused, since his alarm clock wouldn't be going off at 2:45 on a Saturday afternoon). It did nothing. Leo's eyes widened, his breathing and heartrate growing rapidly._

_"Aeris, you have to wake up," he said, a slight tinge of panic in his voice._

_"..What are you talking about, Leo?" she responded, an eyebrow raised._

_"Please, you have to wake up, and you have to do it now."_

_"What's going on, Leo?" she demanded._

_"Just trust me. But you have to wake up, NOW!"_

* * *

Aeris slowly came to her senses, realizing that the loud, shrill beep she was hearing wasn't just in her dream. Something was not right. She threw the covers off herself, and went to investigate. Upon standing, a wave of thick smoke hit her so fiercely it nearly knocked her over as she hacked and coughed, trying to expel the acrid air from her body.

She noticed a faint glow from underneath her door. _Oh, no no no,_ she thought to herself, fearing the worst. She opened the door to notice that her aging furnace, the one that creaked and rattled in protest when it turned on, had caught on fire, catching the surrounding wall as well. She swore to herself, feeling panic set in.

"Fuck, fuck.. FIRE!" she swore, as she bolted out of the room, searching for the nearest water source or fire extinguisher she could get her paws on. Aeris's parents opened their bedroom door.

"Oh my God! Aeris, find some water!" screamed her mother in panic. Aeris returned with a fire extinguisher in her paws. She pulled the pin and squeezed the lever, only to release a dull cough of aged chemical. Despite her squeezing and mangling of the lever, no more chemical would be released. Frustrated, she threw the empty canister against the wall The flames grew taller, eventually spreading to the ceiling.

"Fuck! Get out of the house!" her father shouted as they all ran outside. Aeris ran down the street to Leo's house and started frantically banging on the door. She didn't know her other neighbors too well, being relatively new to the neighborhood, and Leo and his family was the only ones she really trusted.

Leo walked out of bed. It wasn't very common that someone would be knocking on the door at 1 in the morning. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" He opened the door, greeted by a nappy-furred Aeris, tears streaming down her cheeks, in a frenzied panic. "Leo, call 911! My fucking house just caught fire and it's not going out!" He looked past Aeris down the block to her house, seeing a dull orange flicker through the windows.

"Holy shit!" Leo ran back inside and dialed 911. Within 5 minutes, almost the entire Toronto FIre Department pulled up to the small cul-de-sac where they lived. A small crowd gathered on the sidewalks as the entire block gathered to see what all the calamity was about. Once the fire was under control, they turned the gas off via the main on the side of the house and extinguished the flames. It still stood, but was too dangerous to live in. Leo put some clothes on and walked down the block toward Aeris's house, taking in as much as possible. Aeris's parents and his parents were talking with the fire department. Aeris was sitting on the curb, shaking and scared. This was all so much to deal with. Her parents seemed calm, cool, and collect, but she was a shivering mess.

Leo went back inside his house to grab the comforter off his bed, then walked back outside next to Aeris. He draped the thick green blanket over her shoulders. This seemed to startle her, because she jumped like a shot. She seemed to calm down when she saw it was Leo.

"Fuck, Leo, you scared the shit out of me," she said with a shiver.

"Sorry, just thought you looked a little cold." He sat down next to her. "Are you okay?" Aeris looked at his face. This was the first time she'd seen him show honest concern for anything before.

"Yeah, I'll be fine... I just... I don't know... Where will we stay? Oh God, I'm so confused..." She wrapped her arms around Leo, burying her face in his shoulder. Leo was surprised, but fully understanding, holding her in return.

"Don't worry," he assured. "We'll make it work, I promise." Aeris sniffled quietly.

"Thank you.." she whispered.

"No problem," Leo said, laying his head against hers for a second. Once he was sure she was calmed down, he removed his arm from around her. "I'll be right back, I gotta go talk to my parents." She nodded as Leo stood up and walked toward his mother and father. His mother stopped talking to Aeris's, and looked at him.

"Leo, would you be all right if the Coles stayed with us for a while?" she asked. "Just until they get back on their feet." Leo nodded.

"That's fine with me, as long as dad's ok with it."

"It was his idea," she replied. "Go get Aeris, her parents want to talk to her." He walked over to the curb, got Aeris and walked back.

"Aeris, we're gonna be staying with the Leonardos till we get this sorted out," said her dad as he put his arm around her shoulders. Aeris breathed a sigh of relief as she wrapped her arms around Mrs. Leonardo, who chuckled and put a hand on the back of Aeris's head.

About an hour later, they had gotten clearance from the fire department to enter the house long enough to pack up just what they needed, which included huge briefcases full of clothes and memorabilias for Aeris's parents, and a couple outfits, videogames and the Xbox for Aeris. They were discussing accomodations, when it became obvious that there was only one spare bedroom.

"Well," Leo suggested, "we could give Aeris's parents the guest-room and Aeris could roomie with me."

"I don't see a problem there," replied Aeris's dad.

"Indeed," chimed in her mom. "Mrs. Leonardo, what do you think?"

"Well..." His mom thought about it for a while. "As long as you keep the door open," she said with a sly grin. Leo quietly celebrated inside his head.

"Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Leonardo," said Aeris's dad. "It means the world to us that you would do this... it's good to see there are still some good people left in this world." Leo's mom chuckled as she walked away.

"I'll let you all get unpacked. I'm going to make us all some soup." Leo led Aeris back into his room and helped her get some of her stuff unpacked. She couldn't help but think about the dream she had right before the fire... how _good_ she felt, how wonderful Leo made her feel.

A few minutes later, the soup was finished and everyone was trying to relax. Aeris's parents were already looking up numbers for hotels to call in the morning. Meanwhile, Leo and Aeris were exhausted, about ready to fall asleep standing up. They decided to turn in.

"Where do you want me to sleep?" inquired the pink cat.

"You can have my bed, I'll sleep on the floor." Aeris rolled her eyes.

"Leo, I'm not going to take your bed. It's your house. I'll sleep on the floor."

"No you won't, Aeris," he retaliated. "If you're going to be like this then we'll both use the bed."

"Fine by me!" she said, crossing her arms. Leo felt himself blush slightly.

"Are...you serious?"

"Yes, Leo, I am. Just because I'm a guest here, don't treat me like I'm royalty." It was a little unnerving for Leo to share his bed at all, nonetheless with a girl. He'd never had to do so before. Either way, they both were shaken by the events that had just taken place. Aeris was in no position to argue, with the shape she was in. And Leo, he just wanted to sleep. He looked over at Aeris, who was sitting at the edge of his bed, her elbows on her knees. She looked as if she could fall asleep right then and there.

"Are you ready to go to sleep?" he asked. Aeris blinked once and raised her head a bit.

"Isn't your mom making soup?" she asked drowsily. He shrugged.

"Yeah, but I'm not really hungry," he said, stretching his back. "Are you?" She shook her head.

"I think food is the least of my concern right now," she groaned, laying back on the bed. Leo issued a concerned moan, walking over to the door and kicking it shut gently, flicking his light off. Aeris took off her sweater and draped it over Leo's computer chair, crawling in bed and under the covers. Without thinking, Leo began undressing again, removing his shirt and beginning to remove his jeans. He managed to get the button and fly undone before Aeris realized what he was doing.

"Leo! What the hell are you doing?" He nearly had a heart attack as he quickly re-buttoned his jeans.

"Shit! I'm sorry," he stammered. "Just.. I normally only sleep in my underwear." He could tell Aeris was blushing, as was he. "If it makes you feel more comfortable, I can put on some pajamas."

"No no, it's okay," Aeris said, covering her eyes. "It's your house, do whatever you do. I'm not even here."

"Aeris, I don't want to get stark naked in front of my best friend."

"I don't care," she said. "Pretend I'm not even here. Just please, do whatever makes you comfortable." Leo sighed, and once he was sure Aeris was in bed and comfortable, he turned his back to her and began stripping down. He crawled in bed next to her, getting warm beneath the sheets.

"Don't you sleep in your underwear too?" Leo inquired slyly.

"Nice try, perv," Aeris responded, giggling but slightly blushing still. "I don't like sleeping naked. I just feel too revealed."

"You made **me**."

"Because you always do, and I don't." Leo gave a fake, playful _aww_, making Aeris giggle. He rolled over and gave her a quick, spontaneous hug.

"Goodnight, Aeris. If you need anything, wake me up." Aeris gave a small mew of appreciation, and returned to her side of the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

VG Cats ©2001-2010 Scott Ramsoomair

Note - this chapter isn't as long as it seems, but there is a lot of double-spacing.

In Time of Need

Chapter 2

Leo lay in bed, restless and unable to sleep. He was exhausted from being woken up at 1 in the morning, but he couldn't shake the thought of what might have happened if it had been any worse. Aeris could have died tonight. In fact, maybe she had, and he was dreaming all of this. He rolled over to see if Aeris was still next to him - she was, thank god. They had been best friends since near birth, and Leo didn't know what he would do without her. He only hoped she thought the same of him, but he doubted it. He was getting a headache from so much thinking, and decided it would be best to try to get some sleep. He laid his head down on his pillow, clearing his mind and feeling sleep take over his tired form.

* * *

_"Well I don't know about you, but I sure had a great time," he said to Aeris as they left the restaurant. "I can't remember the last time I ate that much." Aeris giggled slightly._

_"Yeah, that was delicious," she agreed. "But today's been a long day. I just want to go home, take a shower, get comfortable and play some Xbox."_

_"God, that sounds so good right now," Leo said as they approached the car. Leo had borrowed his dad's new Lexus to take Aeris to this restaurant. Normally, his dad wouldn't let him drive such a new car, considering he was only 16, but when he stated his intentions, his dad understood, and was more than happy to toss him the keys. Leo started the car, smiling at how neat it was to start it with the press of a button, and they drove off. When they had gotten on to the highway, the car let out a beep from the dash as the fuel light came on. "Crap, looks like we gotta stop and get gas." Leo turned into the gas station and turned the engine off with the press of a button, smiling again at how nifty that little feature is._

_"Wait here a second," he told Aeris. He pulled the lever to open the gas cap, leaving the car turned on so she could listen to the radio. As he walked inside to pay for the gasoline he would eventually fill his car with, he couldn't help but notice a couple shifty looking guys standing in front of the store, smoking cigarettes and eyeing up the car, making him feel uneasy. As if to magnify this feeling, Leo knew he left the keyfob in the car, and knew that as long as that was in the car, anyone could drive it. He shook his head and tried to hurry inside. As soon as the glass door to the station closed, he saw the guys run to the car. He turned tail immediately, throwing the door open and running toward the car, chasing after the guys. _

_"Aeris! Get out!" he shouted. She was dozing off in the passenger seat when she heard Leo yell, and noticed the burly guys running toward her. She shrieked quickly and fumbled for the door handle, opening it and stepping out quickly. One of the guys pointed his gun at Leo as the other circled around the car._

_"Stay the fuck back or I'll fucking shoot you!" the smaller one screamed menacingly. At that moment, Aeris swept in from behind and got the gunman in a headlock._

_"Listen here, boy, you don't EVER threaten my friend!" Aeris could feel the man's neck pop as she twisted it. Suddenly, she screamed out in pain - the most sickening scream Leo had ever heard - and let go of the man she had in a headlock. He dove out of the way, clutching a bloodied knife in his hand, leaping into the passenger seat and shouting at his accomplice to hurry. Aeris clutched her abdomen, a small trickle of blood seeping from between her fingers, falling gently to the ground._

_"Aeris!" He ran over to her, applying pressure to her profusely bleeding knife wound. "You fucking **cowards**! You won't fucking get away with this!" he vainly screamed, the car's tires squealing as the men tore out of the gas station. Aeris looked up at him, her bright azure eyes slowly fading away. A small pool of blood began to form beneath her, as Leo continued applying pressure. "You're gonna be okay, I promise..." Leo reassured. The attendant, having heard all of this, ran outside with his shotgun._

_"Where'd they go?!" he shouted._

_"They got away, call 911! They stabbed her!" The attendant ran back inside to call for help as Leo tried to make her feel as comfortable as possible until help arrived. She began to drift in and out of consciousness. Leo had never felt so helpless in his life._

_"Aeris... I think you should know I love you more than anything," he said as he hugged her tightly for what would be the last time, as her eyes slowly drifted shut. He felt her body go limp as he slowly set her on the ground as a feeling of crushing guilt slammed on top of him._

* * *

Leo's eyes shot open, his breathing heavy. He rolled over to make sure Aeris was okay, still sleeping soundly. "_Jesus Christ, what was that all about?"_ he thought to himself. It was at that moment, when he reflected on how devastated he was when Aeris lost her life, that he knew how much he really cared for her. He couldn't help but wonder if she felt the same way about him, as he put his arm around her stomach and held her close for a second, before looking at the clock to see if it was even worth trying to go back to sleep. The clock's answer of 8:30 AM said no. "Fuck!" he shouted under his breath. He began gently shaking Aeris.

"Aeris, wake up! We're late for school!" Her eyes bolted open as she lept out of bed. Neither had time to care that they were half-naked, nor did they seem to care that _each other_ were half-naked. They just had to get ready. Leo threw open his closet door to take out the first shirt and pair of jeans he could find, as Aeris frantically searched her suitcase. She immediately wished she had gotten more stuff out of her house while she was able to enter it. In what seemed like only a couple of minutes they were dressed and ran out of the room toward the door. Leo's mom was making breakfast.

"Hey whoa, what's the hurry you two?" she said as they frantically tried to gather their stuff.

"Late for school, gotta go," Aeris rushed. Mrs. Leonardo finished setting the table.

"Guys, you're already late, and Aeris, I doubt you'll want to go straight back to school so soon after last night," she said, putting some bacon in the skillet. "Just take an absent day. I'll call the school and tell them what happened." They both stopped in their tracks, both relieved that they didn't have to go to school, yet slightly irritated that they were forced so rudely out of bed during such a restful sleep.

"Go put your pajamas back on, breakfast is almost ready." Leo put his backpack on the couch and sat down while Aeris went to change.

"Thanks, Mom," he said. His mom nodded while she finished cooking the bacon. Aeris got changed into some pajamas, followed by Leo, as they went in the kitchen and sat down to eat breakfast. Leo's mom was gracious enough to wake up early before she had to go to work to cook a big breakfast, which included bacon, eggs, sausage, biscuits, hash browns, toast, and coffee. She called everyone to the table, and in a few minutes everyone was seated and eating.

"Oh Leo, I told Mr. and Mrs. Cole that I'd show them a couple places around town," said Leo's mom across the table. She was a real estate agent, one of the best in Toronto, and she was more than happy to show Aeris's parents some affordable places to stay once their homeowner's insurance came through. "We might be gone a while. Are you two going to be all right by yourselves?" Leo rolled his eyes.

"Mom, we're 16, I think we can manage." His mom grinned and kept eating, as did he. Aeris did little more than than poke at her food, as she was understandibly not very hungry. It wasn't long before the food was gone and everyone was satisfied.

"Well Linda, the food was great," said Mr. Cole, wiping his mouth. "You've sure got some talent." Leo's mom giggled.

"Thank you, Dan. I'm glad you enjoyed it," she replied as she started clearing the table. It didn't take long for everyone to start doing something else - Aeris's parents were getting dressed to look at houses, Leo's dad was reading the paper, and his mom was getting ready for work. Aeris and Leo were, of course, in the bedroom. Aeris was looking to see which outfits she had blindly picked out of her dresser, while Leo was trying again to beat the part in _Left 4 Dead 2_ he was having trouble with the night before.

"Fucking hell, I still can't beat this part," he huffed. Aeris quit poking around in her suitcase and went over to Leo's computer.

"Let me try." Leo got up and went into the kitchen to get some sodas. His mom and Aeris's parents had left a few minutes before, most likely in too big of a rush to say bye. When he came back, Aeris was fiddling with the settings.

"What are you doing?" he said as he put the sodas down on his desk.

"Changing your settings... I think you were having so much trouble because your sensitivity was on 2," she suggested. "How can you even _play_ with your sensitivity that low?"

"Easier headshots," he explained opening his Sierra Mist. Aeris rolled her eyes and set it on a much more acceptable level, then resumed the game. It looked astounding on Leo's high-end machine, which was much newer than her own. Everything ran so fluidly at an incredible frame rate, with no jagged edges to be seen. Leo was surprised how accurate she was, especially on such a high sensitivity. He was dumbstruck when she got past it a couple minutes later.

"How the...?" Aeris swiveled around in her chair and grabbed her soda.

"Lots of practice, I guess," she smirked. Leo was a little frustrated at first, until he noticed that Aeris was actually smiling, for the first time since the fire. "What's the matter, jealous?" He scoffed.

"Jealous, because a girl beat me at Left 4 Dead? Hell no. I could walk circles around you." Aeris stood up and ushered him into the chair, an invitation which he gladly accepted. He went back to the main menu and started the level over, dying almost immediately.

"What the hell! I swear to God you've got to be cheating." Aeris laughed as Leo restarted, missing shot after shot due to the new sensitivity, only to die again. "Dammit!" She was laughing hysterically now.

"I'm glad you find this funny, Aeris," he growled. She sat up, having fallen over with laughter, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Oh Leo, I do," she giggled. "Very funny." She kept laughing while Leo rolled his eyes and turned his computer off. He took another swig of his soda while he grabbed an Xbox game.

"I'm gonna play some Vegas 2, you wanna join?" he asked, offering Aeris the second controller. She shook her head.

"Nah, not right now. I gotta make sure I packed up everything I need." She reached for her suitcase and opened it. At that moment, Leo's dad knocked on his door and opened it.

"Leo, my boy, I've got to run to the shops briefly, is there anything I might be able to grab you?" His British accent confused the crap out of him - he wasn't sure if he got his Canadian accent from his mom, or if his dad was just always faking it.

"No thanks, dad," he replied, starting up a terrorist hunt match in _Rainbow Six Vegas 2_.

"Right then, Aeris, is there anything you'd fancy?"

"No thanks, Mr. Leonardo, but thank you."

"Right then, I shall be off! No wild nip parties, you two!" he said with a grin. Leo and Aeris chuckled as they wished Leo's dad off. Aeris sat on the bed next to him, digging through her suitcase while he slaughtered terrorists.

"How are you so good at killing waves of insane terrorists, but you can't kill a few feeble zombies?"

"Easy - I just pretend the terrorists are you," he teased. She punched him in the shoulder.

"You're a jackass, you know that?" Leo chuckled as he kept shooting at terrorists.

"Well, if I wasn't, you'd probably quit hanging out with me." Aeris just giggled - she was too busy digging through her stuff.

"Oh, damn it," she huffed. Leo paused his game and looked back.

"What's up?"

"I don't have enough clothes," she said throwing her briefcase to the side. "I have to go back to my house and get some more."

"Aeris, you know you can't do that. They said don't enter the house, it's structurally unstable," Leo said, not taking his eyes off his game.

"Well what else am I going to do? It's not like I can go buy more clothes." Aeris put her clothes back in her suitcase, not bothering about being neat, and closed it, setting it aside. Leo paused his game and sighed.

"Whatever, but you're not going by yourself." He got his jacket out of his closet and started looking for his shoes.

"Leo, why are you so concerned?" she questioned. "It's not like the house is barely standing on its own. I can just go in and out, I'll be fine."

"Can't a guy be concerned for his best friend?" he said.

"Hah, more like only friend," Aeris scoffed.

"Come on now, that was a low blow," Leo chuckled.

"Well, that's what you get for that little remark you made earlier." Aeris put her jacket on and grabbed her suitcase. "Now let's go." Leo finished tying his shoes and stepped outside. It was a rather cloudy and chilly Toronto morning, the first signs of winter's swift approach. They made their way down the lane to Aeris's house, some char marks scarring the side from where the fire had blazed last night. She opened the still unlocked door and they walked inside. The smell of smoke and soot permeated every square inch of the house. Walking down the hallway to Aeris's room, they both saw the damage the fire had caused.

"Holy shit..." Leo gasped. He was surprised, having never seen such damage to a house before, but Aeris was mortified. She didn't say a word while she took some more clothes out of her dresser, loaded them into her suitcase, and left the house again. Leo noticed this and grew concerned. "Hey, are you ok?" She just nodded. Leo winced as they walked back up the lane to his house. He knew she wasn't okay, and placed a paw on Aeris's shoulder. She smiled gently, as they made her way back to his house. They walked up the drive and into house, and went back into his room. They were met with a strange sight - the game Leo had paused was now frozen, with a green checkerboard pattern across the screen.

"What the fuck?" He restarted the Xbox, but nothing showed up on the screen. A quick glance at the console revealed the sight no Xbox owner wants to see.

The three red lights.

"Well, that's just perfect..." He almost punched his power button to turn the console off, and threw his controller to the floor. "This thing's only a couple months old!" He proceeded to remove the disc and unplug the console from the wall and his TV.

"I'm sorry, Leo," Aeris chimed in. "You know I have mine in my suitcase, you can plug it up?" He opened an empty drawer in his dresser and placed the console in it.

"No thanks," he huffed. "I was done anyway. I'll call Microsoft tomorrow, see if I'm still under warranty. I've got my computer till then." He plopped down on his bed, arms crossed. About that time, Leo heard his door unlock as his dad returned from the grocery store.

"My boy!" he shouted. "I've returned! Come help your old man unload the bags!" Again with that accent. Confusing as heck.

"Be right there!" he shouted. While he was unloading groceries, Aeris had a few minutes by herself to reflect on the events that happened. The one that stood out the most, probably, was the dream she had that night. What did it mean? Whenever she had a dream like that, she just chalked it up to hormones - she _was_, after all, a teenager - but this was just... different. Everything just felt so... right. She loved Leo. But she didn't want to admit it, not even to herself. They had been best friends since they were kittens, and she was afraid creating a relationship would ruin the bond they shared. She shook her head.

"Damn it, Aeris," she said quietly to herself. "What's wrong with you?" She sat up against the wall and rested her head in her palms, thinking about what she should do. Part of her didn't want to take her relationship to a new level, afraid it would make things awkward between them, but another part of her wanted nothing more. Part of her wanted Leo to make up her mind for her. And yet another part of her wished she didn't have to think about it at all. Leo was usually never bright, but when he was, he was actually pretty cool to be around. Leo poked his head in the door.

"Hey, I'm going to Wendy's to get some lunch. You wanna come with me?" Aeris snapped out of her trance.

"Oh. Uh, no thanks, just pick me up a Baconator and some fries, if you wouldn't mind. I'll pay you back." Leo shook his head.

"Ah-ah-ah, your money's no good here. This one's on me." He winked at her, and she started to blush. "Be back in a few." Leo walked outside to the car and proceeded on his way. Aeris, realizing she barely slept last night, decided to crawl onto the bed and doze off for a little bit.

When Leo started the car, it made him remember the nightmare he had last night. But, he shook it off, put the car in gear and went on his way. Now that he had some time to himself, he began recollecting what happened, and wondering what might have happened if he hadn't woken up. What if the fire were much more serious, and she couldn't get out? He didn't know what he would do then. It took him this long to realize how much Aeris really meant to him.

He chuckled to himself. He would almost go as far as to say he loved her. Well, of course he loved her. They'd been best friends since childhood. She seemed to be the only person to put up with his crazy personality. She was just so... pretty.. of course, when she wasn't yelling at him. It seemed like he was the only one who noticed it. He decided then that Aeris would be the one. He started working out ways to tell her. Maybe admitting to have liked her for all this time? ...No, too creepy. Maybe casually mentioning it in conversation? ...No, what if she says no? Hmm, maybe he could do a nice gesture. Maybe some flowers or something.

His mind continued racing, when he suddenly felt himself thrown to the side. He felt his head hit the side window.

Then he felt nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

VG Cats ©2001-2010 Scott Ramsoomair

In Time of Need ©2010 ~Metalfan2680

In Time of Need

Chapter 3

* * *

_It was a warm afternoon in Toronto, strange since it was mid-November. But she wasn't complaining. She was just happy to be alone with Leo for a while, as they walked through the mall. Leo's Xbox had broken, Aeris's was most likely too damaged from smoke to work, and the PC games Leo had were getting old, so they had nothing much else to do rather than walk aimlessly around Toronto's giant mall. They walked past a clothing store, and Aeris stopped and looked at a poster advertising a kind of perfume._

_"Haha! Leo, come look at this." The gray cat turned around to inspect whatever it was that had made Aeris stop._

_"Mm. It's perfume. What about it?" Aeris giggled quietly._

_"Says here it's supposed to make you smell like Paris Hilton." She couldn't help but giggle a little._

_"Ha! Who wants to smell like beer and cigarettes?" he chortled. Aeris started laughing. "Well, now I'm intrigued. Let's go see what this stuff smells like." They walked inside and found a sampler bottle of the perfume. Leo held the bottle up to his nose, took a sniff, then put the bottle down with a confused look on his face._

_"Well?" she questioned. "Is it bad?"_

_"No... actually, it's kind of good."_

_"Whoa Leo, did you just turn gay on me?" she teased._

_"No seriously, smell this." He held the bottle out for her to sniff, which she did. It was a strange mixture of scents; very sweet with a slight floral hint to it with a pleasant spicy high-note._

_"Wow..." She took the bottle and sniffed it a couple more times. "This might be the best stuff I've ever smelled." She handed the bottle back to Leo, who put it back, and picked up a box of the perfume._

_"I'll get you some," he offered. Aeris felt herself blush a little._

_"Leo, you know you don't have to do that." Leo ignored her protests as he walked up to the checkout counter, with Aeris in tow. "Leo, please, come on. I can't get you anything in return and I'll feel bad." He looked back at her._

_"What makes you think I want something in return?" He winked at her as he pulled out his wallet. After he had paid for the bottle of concentrated happiness, he handed Aeris the bag. Any doubts she had about loving Leo vanished at that moment as she sprang her arms around his neck._

_"I love, you Leo."_

* * *

"I love you, Leo." The words seemed to echo through his head as he slowly came to, his head resting on the now-deflated air bag. It took him a while to remember exactly what had happened. He didn't remember anything before crossing the intersection. He sat up and opened the car door. A small crowd had gathered, at least 3 people on their cell phones. He stumbled out of the car in a daze, rubbing his head.

"What the hell happened?" he said to himself. He could hear the sirens wailing in the distance as they seemed to grow closer. He remembered only then that there was someone else involved, as he rushed over to the Dodge pickup truck. The driver was unconscious, and Leo reached his arm in the window to shake the guy to try to get him awake. Before his hand made contact, he saw the empty beer bottles on the passenger-side floorboard.

"Oh, you son of a bitch," he said under his breath. He felt like punching the guy square in the jaw, and he was about to, had his vision not gone blurry. He became unbelieveably dizzy, holding to the door of the truck for balance, to no avail. He stumbled a bit, before he fell to the ground and passed out.

* * *

Aeris woke up to the sound of the Leonardos' phone ringing. She rolled over and looked at the clock - she had only been asleep for about half an hour. She sat up rubbing her eyes. "Uggh, fuck..." She was so unbelievably tired, and all she wanted to do was sleep, but for some reason, she couldn't. She thought about laying back down and sleeping more, but she had that feeling that if she tried, she wouldn't be able to sleep. Frustrated, she went into the bathroom to take a shower. As she started undressing, she heard a knock at the door.

"Aeris, you wouldn't happen to know the whereabouts of your old folks' car keys, would you dear?" said Leo's dad through the door. A confused look came across her face.

"Uhh, yeah, I think they're in the guest room," she replied, taking a towel out of the closet. "Why?"

"Right then, get dressed quickly and go get them. We've got to go. Leo's been in an accident." She swore she felt her heart skip a beat.

"Oh, fuck..." She quickly took her clothes out of the hamper and threw them on, as she ran out to find her shoes.

Leo came to right around the time the ambulance showed up. He didn't bother standing up, fearing he would be too weak to stand on his own. He saw a small pool of blood from a large gash on his forehead, most likely from striking it against the window. The paramedics jumped from the ambulance with their equipment, and began to load Leo onto a stretcher. While doing so they asked him a series of questions.

"What's your name, son?" one of them asked.

"Leo Leonardo the Third," he strained to reply.

"Do you remember anything that happened?"

"mmh... No, I just remember crossing the intersection, and..." His eyes began to drift shut, and the medic gently shook his shoulder.

"Stay with me, Leo! What happened after you crossed the intersection?"

"I..." He struggled to make the words come out. "I can't remember... I just remember waking up." Another team of medics was tending to the other driver.

"Hey, Susan, there's empty beer bottles in this dude's truck," one of them shouted as he helped the driver out. The medics checked him over, and when it became obvious that his injuries weren't severe, the police slapped him in cuffs and escorted him into the back of their police car. The EMT's loaded Leo into the back of the ambulance and sped off.

* * *

Aeris sat with Leo's dad as she counted the ticking of the clock on the wall, lost in thought. The last couple of days had been so hectic and chaotic. It was like God was trying to smite her for something she may have done. But even then, nothing she could have done would warrant this series of events. _God, what about Leo? _she thought to herself. _I hope he's all right. I don't know what I would do without him._ She stopped herself. Though it was only natural to be so concerned about your childhood best friend, she couldn't help but wonder if something else could possibly be there.

She was getting sick of denying it to herself. All right, that was it. She had made up her mind - she loved Leo. Fuck what anyone else thought, even herself. All the crap that had happened in the past couple of days, who was there? Only Leo. And he always seemed to know exactly how to calm her down when she was stressed. He was someone she could talk to about pretty much anything. He always knew how to cheer her up when she was depressed. He was pretty much perfect. _And why didn't I figure this out before?_ She shook her head in an attempt to evict the thought from her mind, as she rest her head in her hands. Leo's dad chimed in.

"You all right, dear? You seem proper stressed." She sat up and looked at him.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine," she said stretching. "Just really tired. How about you?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I had to tell myself when Leo got his license that it was bound to happen sooner or later," he said as he laughed nervously. "I could go for a drink, would you like something?"

"Mm, no thanks," she replied. "I'm not very thirsty." He nodded and stood up, walking down the hall. Aeris rested her head in her hands and let herself get lost in thought for a bit.

In the ambulance on the way to the hospital, Leo was continuously bombarded with questions - was he allergic to anything, what was his blood type, etc. It was a couple agonizing minutes of Q&A before they finally gave him some morphine to ease his pain. In a matter of seconds he went from blinding pain to floating on cloud nine. He thought he felt himself let slip a stupid chuckle, which he had hoped he didn't do, but the laughing from the paramedics told him differently. But, fuck it he thought, he was too bubbly to care. He had some time to think about the accident, trying to dig up memories of what happened. He was pretty sure, almost positive, that his light was green, and that he was obeying the 60kph speed limit, so at least he wasn't at fault. But regardless, he was driving drunk, so it would have been his fault either way. Eventually the morphine made him too tired to think, and he let himself go to sleep.

He woke up a couple hours later in the hospital. His head was now throbbing, and he noticed his left forearm, as well as his right knee, were in a cast. He looked over to see that Aeris was sitting next to his bed. Still too doped up on morphine to form a coherent sentence, he let out a small grunt, which made Aeris turn around.

"Oh my god! You're awake!" She lept out of her seat and hugged Leo tight. Too tight, it would seem, judging by his pained shout. Instantly she eased her grip. "Thank god you're all right!"

"Mostly, anyways," he replied, snapped out of his trance by the blinding pain caused by Aeris's death grip. "Where's dad?"

"He went outside for some air," she said, absent-mindedly playing with her tail. "I think your mom's here too, he might be talking to her. Can I get you something?" Leo lay back on the bed.

"Yeah, if you can get the nurse to bring me some ibuprofen, that would be awesome. Oh, and a sierra mist if you don't mind." Aeris nodded, and walked out. He took a little bit to get his bearings. Everything was happening so fast - just last night, Aeris's house had almost burned down, and now he narrowly escaped dying in a car accident today. No denying it, life sucked. He wished he could just close his eyes and make it all be over. The door opened, and his mom walked in.

"Leo! Oh my god, are you all right?!" she said in a panicked tone as she hugged Leo tight.

"Agh! Too tight!" She immediately loosened up. "Jeez, that's twice in a row, Aeris about broke my spine."

"Sorry, Leo," she said in a guilty tone. "Well, are you all right?''

"Dunno yet," he shrugged. "I feel fine, but we have to wait and hear what the doctor says." The door opened again, and Leo's dad walked in.

"Hello, love," his dad said as he kissed his mom on the cheek. "You doing all right?"

"Yeah," she responded, returning the kiss. "I about ran off the road when I picked up my cell phone, though. That's not exactly something you want to hear while you're doing 100kph down the highway."

"Indeed," he said. "Where are Dan and Martha?"

"In the waiting room. They won't let more than a few people back here at once." At about that moment, the doctor came in.

"Hello, Mr. Leonardo," he said as he thumbed through papers on his clipboard. "I'm Dr. Hammond. How are we feeling today?"

"Better, but I still feel like I got run over by a truck," Leo responded. "But then again, that's kind of what happened." The doctor chuckled as he brought a paper to the front of the stack.

"Well, at least you're feeling better. Well, we got the results of your X-rays back, and it looks like your radius has broken clean in half. You'll have to have surgery." Leo's face sank, and he felt like he was going to pass out. That was before the doctor chimed in.

"Just kidding!"

Leo glared at him. "That wasn't funny," he hissed.

"Sorry," the doctor chuckled. "Kind of a slow day today. Gotta keep entertained somehow." Leo rolled his eyes and sighed. He looked the paper over. "Well, your radius _is_ indeed fractured, but it doesn't look too serious... You also seem to have a chip on your tibia and a couple of bruised ribs. You're lucky you were even able to walk out of this, judging by how fast the guy was going."

Leo heaved a sigh of relief, still a little frustrated at the doctor for the joke he pulled earlier. "How fast was he going?"

"Well," he said as he brought a different paper to the front, "the police record says... about 120 kilometers per hour. It was a pretty rough impact." Aeris came back in the room with the soda and ibuprofen Leo asked for.

"Oh, hi doctor," she said. The doctor issued a friendly wave in return. "Here, Leo." She gave him the soda and medicine, which he eagerly took. "So how is he?"

Dr. Sammond adjusted his glasses. "He's got a couple broken bones, but he'll be fine. It's nothing his body can't sort out itself." She let herself breathe a soft sigh of relief. "Well, Mr. Leonardo, if we can get you and your parents to sign these forms, we can get you some crutches and have you out of here before dinner." He put some papers on the counter. "I'm going to write you a prescription for some painkillers, in case you start hurting too bad. But be sure not to use them too often, or you could get addicted." The doctor walked out of the room, closing the door a little too hard which made Leo jump slightly.

"Did he say dinner? What time is it?" he said, confused.

"A quarter past 5," his dad said, glancing at his pocket watch. He must have been asleep for a long time, because when he went to Wendy's, it was just past lunch time. He picked up a pen from his tray and read over the papers, then signed them. The doctor knocked at the door before opening it, entering with a new pair of crutches.

"All right, Mr. Leonardo, these are yours," he said as he propped them against the wall. "I would advise you to use these for as long as you have the cast on, but if you feel like you can walk without them, you can." He taught Leo how to adjust them, and how to replace the pads with softer ones, if he chose. "OK, you can go into the bathroom and get dressed now, we'll get you out of here in a few minutes."Leo nodded, and his mom helped him out of the bed.

"Mom, I'm 16, I think I can get out of bed by myself," he said, irritated. Regardless, he accepted his mother's help as he grabbed his clothes - which the hospital had kindly washed and placed in a bag - as he hobbled off to the bathroom. He noticed they were still tinged with blood, but it was less noticeable since they had been washed. While he was naked, he looked himself over. He had some pretty deep cuts and scratches on the parts of his body that weren't bandaged, but it didn't look too bad. He looked in the mirror at the gash on his forehead, which was now clean and neatly sutured, but he had noticed they apparently had to shave some of the fur off to get the stitches to hold. _Great,_ he thought. He put his clothes on and walked back to the room, where everyone was waiting outside talking.

"So the doctor says he'll have to use crutches for a few weeks, but if he thinks he doesn't need them, he doesn't have to use them," Leo's mom said to Aeris's dad. "Oh, here he comes." They turned the release forms into the reception desk, then they headed home, Aeris and Leo riding with his dad and Aeris's parents riding with his got in the car and started home.

"So dad," Leo chimed in, "what are you going to do about the car?"

"Well, since you weren't at fault, and since you're on the policy, the insurance company should replace it," he said. Leo was relieved; the last thing he wanted was to be responsible for buying another brand-new Lexus.

The drive home seemed to take forever, but Leo was so glad to finally be home. His mom started dinner while he went back in his room, and Aeris took a shower. Out of curiosity, he took the Xbox out of his drawer and hooked it back up - still broken. He sighed, though he wasn't really surprised, and unhooked everything. He lay on his bed propped up by pillows and started reading a book. A few minutes later, Aeris came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

"What are you reading?" she asked. Leo looked up, noticing that Aeris was only wearing a towel that came down to her mid-thigh, catching him off-guard and startling him.

"Mr. Kos-oh, uh.." He blushed gently and raised the book to hide his vision. "Mr. Kosinski is making us read _Of Mice and Men_ for English, then write a 5-page essay on what we think it's trying to say."

"Mm. Well, you can get a shower if you want to," she said. Leo scoffed.

"I wish. The doctor said I can't take showers because of these fucking casts. It's sponge baths for me for the next couple of weeks." Aeris got some clothes out of her bag as she started back into the bathroom.

"I thought most casts these days were waterproof," she asked.

"Actually," Leo responded, "I'm not too sure. I'll find out tomorrow, I guess." She nodded and headed back into the bathroom to get changed. He laid the book across his chest for a bit, stopping to think. He began to remember the dream he had after the wreck. Did it actually mean something? Or was it just a meaningless dream? He assumed the latter, because only in his dreams would Paris Hilton smell that good. He laughed to himself as he started reading again. Aeris walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a plain white T-shirt and purple pajama pants, and noticed the Xbox sitting vertically on the TV stand.

"Does the Xbox work now?" He didn't look up from his book, repling with a simple "nope". Aeris sighed. "Mind if I use your computer?"

"Sure, just keep the speakers low. I gotta pass this test, I can't afford to get another F." She booted up his computer. "And no yaoi, either. I don't want that crap in my history," he chuckled.

"Har-har," she retorted. "What's the password?"

"Gamercat." She typed this in and the computer booted up. She checked her Facebook, which of course, was full of random friend requests full of vulgar and explicit messages. She groaned to herself as she aggressively denied every friend request she got. Having nothing worth reading, she logged into her Steam account and played some more Left 4 Dead 2. Leo stopped reading his book for a second to look at her. She was far from bad looking; she managed to stay in good shape, especially considering all the junk food she ate, and that she never really exercised much outside of P.E. You could almost say she was kind of cute. He laid back on his pillow and rested his eyes for a few minutes, lost in thought. He couldn't help but notice that she hadn't been nearly as angry as she usually tended to be, and wondered why that was.

She was shocked when she turned the graphics up to full and still managed to pull off 60 frames per second." Holy crap Leo, your computer is incredible!" she said. Leo didn't respond, not even with a quiet grunt. She turned around and noticed that his book was now laid across his chest, himself having fallen asleep. She admired him for a second, smiling the same way an elementary school girl would smile at a newborn baby. He was kind of cute when he slept. His jaw was slightly slack whenever he slept. She looked at the clock - it was just past seven o'clock, not nearly enough to go to bed. She noticed she was getting hungry, and shut down the computer as she went to go check on dinner. She walked into the kitchen where Leo's mom was cooking.

"Hungry, Aeris? We're having chicken carbonara for dinner tonight." The zesty, rich aroma that flooded the kitchen, accompanied with the sight of the dish in the oven, made her mouth water.

"Mmm, that looks great," she said. Her own parents rarely cooked like this, preferring meals that could be microwaved or prepared quickly in a skillet, as they took less time and tasted all right. "Is it done yet?"

"Almost," Mrs. Leonardo said. "Just have to wait for the garlic bread to be ready." Aeris grabbed a soda from the fridge and went back in Leo's room to wake him up. He looked so comfortable and peaceful, she didn't want to wake him up, but she had to. He had to eat something to get his strength back up. She shook his shoulder gently.

"Leo, wake up. Dinner's almost ready." He didn't wake up, and she shook him a little harder. "Leo, wake up~.." Still sleeping. She thought for a second, and cracked an evil grin across her furred lips, as she leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. His eyes instantly shot open.

"What the fu-" he said as he sat up and instinctively propped on his broken arm. "Aaagghh, fuck!" He winced as he grabbed on to the arm in an effort to quell the shooting pain.

"Shit, I'm sorry Leo!" she said as she sat in the bed next to him. "Are you all right?" Leo opened his eyes from the squint they were in.

"Yeah," he said biting his lip. "I'm fine, but what the hell was that?" Aeris giggled a little.

"Sorry, I had to get you awake somehow," she grinned. "Dinner's almost ready."

"Yeah," he said, "that was worth re-breaking my arm." Her ears folded back as a sad frown adorned her white muzzle.

"I'm sorry, Leo, are you mad?" He looked at her and felt guilty.

"Damn it, don't do that..." She purposely looked even sadder, which made him chuckle. "Stop it, you're making me feel bad." She couldn't take it any more and had to laugh. "No, I'm not mad at you. How could I be mad at a face like that?" She giggled as she blushed, which made him realize what he just said and blush himself. Aeris leaned in to give him a quick hug, being careful not to hurt his ribs. This surprised him, but it would be stupid to resist, so he returned the hug.

"Okay, what do you want from me?" he asked as he sat back.

"What do you mean?" she asked as she wiped her bangs from her eyes.

"You're being too nice," he said. "You're only nice to me if you did something wrong, or if you want something from me. And you haven't done anything wrong, soo..." Aeris scoffed, giggling quietly.

"What, can't a girl be nice to her best friend?"

"Are you sure it isn't something _moooore?_" he asked with a sly grin, slipping his paw over Aeris's.

"God, you're such a tool," she said, blushing. Dammit, she didn't mean to blush. Crap, now he pretty much knows.

"I knew it," he said with a sly grin. She was blushing hard, the white of her muzzle turning beet-red. Without another word, she stood up and walked into the bathroom. Leo watched, pinning his ears back as the door shut. She sat on the commode, trying to calm the commotion in her mind.

_Well fuck it,_ she thought, _he already pretty much knows how I feel, no sense hiding it anymore. ...But if I just come out and say I love him, what if he doesn't feel the same way?_ _Not only will it make me look stupid, it will probably make him mad_. She felt like crying, but knew she couldn't because he would hear.

Leo sat at the edge of his bed and lay his face in his palms. "God damn it, Leo, what the hell did you do that for?" he said quietly to himself. "This is why we can't have nice things, you dumbass_"__._ His mom knocked on his door and walked in with two plates of food.

"Leo, I brought you and Aeris some dinner," she said. Leo looked up as she put the plates on his bedside table. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said as he picked up his book and resumed reading. A concerned look appeared on his mom's face.

"You don't look like nothing's wrong." She sat on the bed next to him.

"Mom, nothing's wrong," he insisted. "I'm just tired. This has been a rough couple of days." His mom stood up.

"Okay, if you say so..." She stood up. "If you ever need to talk, you know where I'm at." She gave him a kiss on the forehead, much to his embarrassment. "Eat your dinner, you need to get your strength up." She walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Leo stood up and walked to the bathroom door, knocking on it.

"Aeris, will you come out now?"

"I'm using the bathroom," she responded.

"You've been in there for forever," he said. "Besides, it was awfully convenient of you to have to use the bathroom right as I say something stupid." There was a long silence. "I'm sorry, Aeris. Will you come out now?" He heard the toilet flush, and Aeris walked out.

"Well, I'm out," she said, holding tears back. "What else do you want?"

"Aeris, why are you crying?" he asked. He had never looked that concerned for anyone, quite the way he had now.

"I don't fucking know," she said, a tear rolling down her cheek. She turned away so Leo wouldn't see her cry. Even she didn't know why she was so worked up. She was usually a strong girl, but she had never felt as weak as she was. Every other guy she'd been with just wanted to use her; she was even almost raped once, but the guy's dad stepped in before he could try anything. Leo was the only person who actually cared for and about her, and about how she felt. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Aeris, please don't cry," he said, folding his ears back. "It makes me sad." He knew how much she liked him, and he liked her just as much, but they had both been too afraid to tell each other. Though they were both quite popular in school, and had a lot of friends, they didn't have a boyfriend or girlfriend, because just about everyone they went to school with were taken. "Aeris?"

She sniffled. "What?" Leo walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach, kissing her on the cheek. She jumped slightly, gasping.

"Now we're even." Aeris froze. Did that seriously just happen? Leo realized what he just did, and let go of Aeris as he took a step back, folding his ears back.

_Damn it,_ he thought. _Leave it to me..._He put his palm to his forehead and swore quietly to himself. "I'm sorry, Aer-" She turned around and pulled him into an embrace, resting her head on his shoulder, still crying slightly.

"Thank you."


	4. Chapter 4

VG Cats ©2001-2010 Scott "El Diablo" Ramsoomair

In Time of Need ©2010 Metalfan2680

In Time of Need

Chapter 4

* * *

Leo stood for a while, holding Aeris while she continued to silently cry. He had never seen Aeris cry before, and sometimes doubted she even had the ability. She still didn't know why she was crying, and she sure as hell didn't want to do it in front of Leo, but there was no stopping it now. She straightened her posture as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Leo," she sniffled. "I...don't usually get this way." Leo gestured for her head to rest on his shoulder.

"Shh..." he whispered. "It's ok, I understand." He stood for another few minutes, comforting her. "Hey, Aeris?"

She looked up at him. "Hm?"

"Can we sit down? My leg is killing me." She nodded as Leo walked back toward the bed, ushering her along with him. He leaned back against his pillows and she crawled in bed next to him. "Feel better?" Aeris wiped off her furred cheeks, that tears had left matted marks on.

"Mm-hmm," she responded, giving him a quick hug. "Thanks for listening." Leo lay his paw on her shoulder, patting it reassuringly.

"No problem," he said. "If you ever feel like having another breakdown, you know where I'll be." Aeris let out a purr of affection as she grabbed Leo's hand. "Somewhere else." She started laughing. He rolled over to look at the clock - it was a shade past 8:00 - when he noticed the two plates of freshly made food.

"You gonna eat?" he inquired. Aeris sat up, her eyes still misty. She had almost forgotten the food was there, despite that she heard Leo's mom bring it in, as well as the little conversation they had.

"I suppose," she said, "but only if you do." Leo sat up slowly, still sore from the crash.

"I'm not hungry though." Aeris huffed.

"You have to eat though, Leo. The doctors said you lost a lot of blood from the crash, and you need to get your strength up." She got off the bed and proceeded to pick up a plate. "Besides, your mom spent so much time making this." Leo rolled his eyes.

"All right, fine," he sighed. "If I eat, will you quit nagging me?" He spoke in a slightly frustrated tone with a mostly sarcastic overshadow. Aeris nodded, as she took a bite of the chicken carbonara, which was still warm.

"Oh wow," said Aeris. "Your mom's an insane cook, Leo." She prepared another bite as she continued to chew her first bite. "My parents never cook like this."

"Neither do mine," said Leo, poking at a piece of noodle. "Usually, at least. She only makes a big meal whenever we have company, or on a special occasion... You know, Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays... stuff like that."

"Speaking of birthdays," chimed in Aeris as she swallowed another bite of food, "isn't yours coming up?" Leo continued to poke at his food, seemingly mesmerized by it.

"Yeah, in a few weeks I think."

"Got anything planned?" she asked. Leo shook his head.

"Not really, probably just gonna hang out with a couple friends." He continued to poke his food. Aeris rolled her eyes.

"Leo, eat the damn food or I'll **_make_** you eat it," she snapped. Leo winced as he reluctantly took a bite, rather than rattle her cage any further. "There, was that so hard?" He chewed the food and reluctantly swallowed it.

"No," he replied, "but I am honestly not hungry. It might be the drugs they gave me in the hospital. I'm more tired than anything."

"Try to eat a few more bites," she suggested as she finished off the rest of her dish. "Then go to sleep, but you have to eat _something_ first." Leo groaned as he reluctantly put another bite into his mouth. "Be right back." Aeris got up to take her plate into the kitchen. Leo sighed as he choked down another bite. His dad was watching _Lost_, his mom was at the kitchen table sorting papers and making phone calls for work, and her parents were sifting through newspaper ads looking for an affordable apartment to stay at until the repairs to their house were finished. Aeris went into the kitchen, loaded her plate and fork into the dishwasher and grabbed a soda out of the fridge.

"Dinner tasted great, Ms. Leonardo," she said.

"Thanks, sweetheart," said Leo's mom, not taking her eyes off the laptop she was typing in. "Is Leo eating?"

"Meh, a little bit," Aeris replied. "He doesn't look too hungry, but I'm convincing him to eat a few bites."

"Good job," congratulated Leo's mom. "Hey, if you're in the mood for it, I'm almost done with work, and we were gonna order a movie on-demand...try out the new surround sound. You up for it?" Aeris agreed.

"Sounds like a great idea," she said as she turned around to get another soda out of the fridge for Leo. "What movie?"

"I don't know. We were gonna take a vote." Leo's mom saved the document she was writing in as she shut down her laptop and started stacking papers. "Got any requests?"

"Nah," she insisted. "I'm up for anything." Leo's mom nodded as she started placing her sorted papers neatly in her briefcase. She locked up her briefcase and carried it back into her bedroom. She peeked across the hall into the guest bedroom.

"Dan? What are you doing?" she inquired. Aeris's dad glanced up at the door, then back at the newspaper he was looking through.

"Looking for some apartments to stay in while they fix the house," he replied, turning to a new page.

"Oh, put that down," Leo's mom chuckled. "You're gonna stay here 'till everything gets sorted out."

"We don't want to be a bother..."

"Nonsense!" insisted Ms. Leonardo. "It gets boring here by ourselves anyway. Besides, I know you're tight on money right now, and Aeris and Leo seem to be enjoying themselves. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like." Aeris's dad laughed as he folded up the newspaper.

"All right, if you insist..." He stood up to give Ms. Leonardo a hug. "But at least let me pay you back once we get settled back in."

"Ah-ah, your money's no good to us," she insisted.

"Fine," Dan continued, "but Christmas is at our house this year." Ms. Leonardo laughed.

"Okay, deal." Dan got up and followed Leo's mom back into the living room.

"You're a saint, Linda," he said as he patted her on the shoulder.

Aeris walked back into Leo's room, where he was laying back on his bed, one hand on his forehead and the other on his stomach. "You all right?" she asked, putting his soda on the end table next to his plate. "More importantly, why are you not eating? Your food is getting cold."

"Oh God, please don't mention food..." he strained. She opened her soda and took a sip.

"What's the matter, kitty got a pussy stomach?" she teased.

"At this point? Yes. And you're not helping." He burped quietly under his breath as he breathed deeply, desperately trying not to throw up.

"Leo..." She sat down on the foot of his bed. "I know I'm being a little bit of a bitch right now, but you need to eat."

"I told you I wasn't hungry," he snapped back. "Oh god..." He stood up as quick as he could and rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. She could hear him gagging and wretching through the door as another pang of guilt shot through her heart. He was in the bathroom for about 5 minutes before he brushed his teeth and came back out.

"Well you got lucky this time," he said. "Next time, I'm aiming for you."

"Heh, sorry..." said Aeris, remorsefully. "But you _had_ to eat something."

"Yeah, yeah..." Leo retorted as he sat on the bed, clutching his leg, which was now accompanied by blinding pain.

"Oh yeah, your mom said we were gonna order a movie on demand tonight."

"Fascinating," Leo grumbled as he tried to quell the shooting pain. "Do me a favor? Go in the kitchen and grab my painkillers off the counter. I think I'm gonna need one." Aeris was reluctant at first - the doctor had prescribed him oxycodone, and Aeris knew of its extremely addictive properties after her dad became addicted after a work injury - but when she saw how badly Leo was hurting, it would be cruel to not get them. She grabbed his plate and put it in the fridge as she snatched the bottle off the counter.

"Here you go," she said offering him the bottle. He responded with a muffled grunt as he read the instructions and took one of the large, white pills.

"Thanks, Aeris." He closed the bottle and set it on his bedside table. "Listen, I'm sorry for being such a jackass tonight." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Well, you're always kind of a jackass...", she said with a giggle, "but apology accepted, I understand."

"No, you don't. Just... so much has happened the past couple of days, I... guess I don't know how I feel, and I think that confusion is manifesting itself as anger. And there's no excuse for that." He began to pat her on the shoulder. "You don't deserve that." She started to blush as she put her paw atop his, which was still resting on her shoulder. Aeris began to felt like she was going to start crying again, but she stopped herself. Before she knew what she was doing, she whipped around and locked lips with Leo. He reacted with a startled (albeit muffled) grunt, which slowly turned into a quiet exhale, but didn't resist as he wrapped his arms around Aeris in an effort to pull her closer. They stayed like this for a solid 3 minutes before either felt like disbanding.

"And _you_ didn't deserve _that_," she responded as she stood up to put the rest of her soda back in the fridge. Leo sat there, dumbstruck, and when she came back, he was just staring into space. She waved her hand and snapped her fingers in front of his face."Snap out of it, ya dummy!" He blinked his eyes and shook his head.

"Uh...w-what?" Aeris chuckled.

"Jesus, Leo, the way you reacted, you'd think you've never been kissed before." Leo blushed and shifted his vision to the ground. Aeris's face, and heart, sank. "Oh god... you mean..."

"That was, um... my first..." Leo mumbled awkwardly, his ears pressed flat against his head. Before she could respond, they heard Leo's mom calling from the living room.

"Guys! Movie time!" Aeris could have easily made fun of him for this, but she decided not to in favor of relaxing - something she hasn't done since the night of the fire. She helped Leo stand up and they walked into the living room, where they had settled on watching _Surrogates_. Aeris and Leo sat on the loveseat, while Leo's parents and Aeris's mom sat on the couch, and her dad sat in the recliner. Leo felt himself getting woozy from the painkiller, and he tried to stay awake through as much of the movie as possible.

Aeris woke up just under a couple hours later, having dozed off during the movie. _Damn_, she thought. _I really wanted to see that, too._ She looked around - everyone else had gone to bed, and the TV and lights were off. She propped herself up on her elbow and tried to get her bearings, still in a half-awake stupor. She looked down at where she was just lying. Instead of finding the couch arm or pillow she'd thought it was, instead she saw the familiar blue fabric of Leo's shirt. Focusing her eyes, she saw the faded blue blur slowly transform into the shape of her grey-furred friend. Blushing slightly, she carefully sat up and examined her surroundings. The clock on the cable box read just after midnight. She took her blanket off and - _Wait a minute_, she thought. _I wasn't wearing a blanket... That means... aw, **shit.** _ She had hoped no one would find out yet. Maybe they didn't know; maybe they knew she was sleeping and didn't know what she was doing. At least, that was what she hoped. She gently shook Leo.

"Leo," she said softly. He just grunted and nuzzled closer to the arm of the loveseat. She tapped him on the knee. "Leooo~.." He grunted again. She shook him harder this time, and he woke up.

"..mmf? What time izhit..." he mumbled.

"Not long after midnight. C'mon, let's go to bed." He stretched on the couch and stood up; he would have fallen over had Aeris not caught him.

"Shit... I feel shoo drunk...", he slurred. Aeris chuckled as she carried him wounded-soldier-style to his bed. Feeling more comfortable about the situation, while Leo started taking his shirt off, Aeris began to undress too, much to Leo's pleasure. He thought he let himself slip out another stupid chuckle - which he'd hoped he didn't do, but Aeris's laughing told him otherwise. But, fuck it he thought, he was too bubbly to care. Leo started taking his jeans off, seemingly forgetting his leg was broken, judging by the severe pain he inflicted on himself. Aeris sighed.

"Let me do it..." She walked over and reached for his button, causing him to jerk back.

"Aeris!" he said in a hushed shout. "What are you doing?!"

"Keeping you from messing your leg up, dummy. Trust me, I don't want to do it either..." She undid his button and started taking the jeans down.

"My mommy told me not to let people touch me there...", he said tiredly. Aeris stifled a laugh and continued with the task at hand, carefully sliding Leo's jeans off and draping them over the back of his computer chair. She finished taking her own clothes off and helped Leo to lie straight in the bed, turning his light off and sliding in carefully next to him, covering them both in the sheets.

"Hey Aeris?" he asked.

"Mm?"

"Was it good for you too?" he said, accompanied by a stupid laugh.

"God, you're a dumbass," she said, laughing. They both laid silent for awhile, as Aeris stared at the ceiling, thinking. "Leo?"

"Hm?" came the barely audible response.

"Did you notice anything strange when you woke up?"

"Not really, like what?" he responded with a slur.

"Like the fact that the lights were off, I had a blanket, and the TV was off?"

"Yeah, so? What does...oh...**OH**..."

"Yeah..." Aeris added.

"Oh well, they prob'ly...they prob'ly just thought we... we didn't know what... ahhh, fuck it, you know what I mean." Aeris chuckled.

"Jeez, you're stoned out of your mind, aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's some good shit," he said groggily. Aeris giggled.

"Whatever. Get some sleep, druggie, we got school tomorrow." She finalized this with a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Mmf... good night, Aeris," he responded, sounding half asleep.

"'Night, Leo," she responded, snuggling her covers. He rolled over, his back facing her.

"I love you, Aeris."


	5. Chapter 5

VG Cats © Scott Ramsoomair

.com

In Time of Need

Chapter 5

* * *

Leo opened his eyes. Everything was still, no light except for the faint glow of his alarm clock, which read 4:29 AM. He sat up in the bed and looked over at Aeris, sleeping soundly with her face buried in her pillow. He rubbed his eyes, wishing he were more tired. He lied back down and closed his eyes, hoping for sleep to overcome his tired form, but no sleep found its way to him. Frustrated, he reached over to his bedside table and grabbed his iPod, hoping that playing some Owl City would help him sleep.

He pressed play, lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes. It always confused him why so many people disliked Owl City, because the music wasn't bad at all, the melodies were simple, and the songs were just plain enjoyable. Aeris teased him relentlessly for liking them. He always just shrugged it off, with the obligatory "different strokes for different folks" speech. Soon, it became clear that not even the relaxing, catchy rhythm of _Vanilla Twilight _would help him get back to sleep, he turned his iPod off and put it back on his table. The quiet gurgle of his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning. Somewhat awkwardly, he got out of bed, put on some shorts and a T-shirt, and stumbled out of the bedroom toward the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Aeris opened her eyes. Leo wasn't next to her in the bed, and his door was left open from where it had been closed the night before. She sat up and looked at the clock, which now read 4:42 AM. She heard a faint noise and saw a glow from the television in the living room, which indicated to her that he was awake. She crawled out of bed and made her way to the living room, where she saw Leo in the kitchen, digging in the fridge.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked. A faint "_fff_" could be heard as Leo whipped around, startled by the other voice that had mysteriously appeared. Seeing that it was only Aeris, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jesus, Aeris, don't do that," Leo said, one paw on his chest trying to calm himself down. Aeris chuckled as she walked toward the kitchen.

"Hehe, sorry." She reached past Leo and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. Leo had taken the plate of food from last night out of the fridge and put it in the microwave.

"Hungry?" he asked. "We got some leftovers." Aeris took a drink from her water bottle and shook her head.

"No thanks, I'm just going to wait until breakfast." Leo shrugged and took a water bottle out of the fridge for himself. "You must be feeling better," she suggested.

"Eh, a little," Leo responded. "The painkiller kinda wore off, and I wasn't tired any more." The microwave beeped, and Leo took the plate out and stirred it to make sure it was heated thoroughly. "Hey, did you say something to me last night? I don't remember anything after I fell asleep on the couch." Aeris thought for a second and shook her head.

"No, not that I remember." Leo's ears folded back.

"Did... _**I**_ say anything?" he asked sheepishly. Aeris chuckled quietly, knowing she could bust him for saying he loved her. But she decided to spare him the embarrassment, and shook her head, to which Leo responded with a short sigh of relief. He brought his food into the living room and sat on the couch. Aeris followed close behind, and they sat on the couch watching _Home Improvement_ together.

"So," Leo said as he took a bite of food, "did you find out when your house will be fixed?" Aeris nodded.

"Yeah, I think they said in the next couple of days it will be safe to live in again," she replied. "Maybe even later today."

"That's great," he said. "Does your insurance cover it?" Aeris nodded, and Leo returned with a nod of approval. They stayed silent, aside from the few odd chuckles that were induced by Tim Allen's antics. Aeris perked her ear up at a rhythmic, dull thud sound coming from the hall. A few seconds later, Aeris's dad walked in the room.

"Hmm... What are you guys doing awake?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. Leo swallowed a bite of food.

"My pain medicine wore off, and I couldn't sleep," he responded, readying another bite. Aeris's dad took in a deep yawn.

"Ah.. So you weren't awake when the phone rang, were you?" he said back. Aeris's ears perked up. Her dad never mentioned a phone call unless it was something really important. Leo shook his head as he took another bite of food.

"What's up, dad?" Aeris asked with a quizzical expression on her face. Her dad cracked a small grin.

"The insurance company called," he said with a tired voice. "The house is fixed, and we can move in any time we want." Aeris's eyes lit up.

"Really?!" she asked excitedly, almost loud enough to wake everyone up, as she ran up to her dad and hugged him tightly. "That's awesome!" Her dad winced at the noise and responded with a quiet _"shhh"_, making her ears fold back. "Heh, sorry." He gave a quiet chuckle and scratched her ears.

"It's all right," he said. "Now get some sleep. We're moving back bright and early." He went into the kitchen to get a drink of water and walked back to bed. Aeris sat back down with Leo on the couch.

"Well, there's your answer to your previous question, then." she said. Leo nodded as he prepared another bite of food.

"You want some help moving back in?" asked Leo, with his mouth full. Aeris shook her head.

"Nah, we pretty much got it covered," she said, taking a sip from her water bottle. "Unless you particularly just wanna hang around." Leo nodded.

"Did they ever say how bad the damage was?"

"It wasn't as bad as we thought," Aeris replied. "Most of it was on the main support, though. That's why they condemned it."

"Was any of the furniture damaged?" Leo asked, after swallowing another bite of food.

"I don't think so, since the fire was only in the hallway. The walls are gonna have to be repainted before we do much else, though." Leo took the last bite of food and set his plate on the couch next to him.

"I'll help you guys out," he suggested. "It would be no trouble at all." Aeris nodded.

"That'd be good," she added. "Always nice to have an extra pair of hands." Leo nodded, then went to put his dishes in the dishwasher. He sat back on the couch next to Aeris, and they watched TV for a few more minutes. Aeris, noticing that Leo had been unusually quiet, looked over to find out that he had fallen asleep again. She shook his shoulder.

"Leo, come on. Let's go back to bed," she said. Leo opened his eyes.

"Mm... I'm not tired," he insisted. Aeris rolled her eyes, chuckling slightly.

"If you're not tired, you can finish up that homework you're behind on." Leo sat up and yawned, stretching.

"Hmm, now that you mention it I'm actually exhausted. C'mon," he said as he gestured for Aeris to follow him. Aeris rolled her eyes and followed Leo back into the bedroom. Aeris shut the door and turned out the light, and began crawling into bed as Leo began undressing again. He crept under the covers and snuggled up next to Aeris, wrapping an arm around her stomach.

"Hold on a second," Aeris said as she moved Leo's arm off its position atop her left side. She sat up in bed and removed the shirt she had on, leaving only her black sports bra covering her midsection, and tossed the article of clothing aside. Leo began to blush as Aeris reclaimed her position next to Leo. "It's hot in here." Leo thought about coming back with a _sorry, I'll leave_ joke, but was too embarrassed to do so.

"Aeris, what if my mom walks in when we're asleep?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"I'll stay under the covers," she replied. "I don't take them off when I'm asleep."

"Well, what if they do somehow come off? Mom and dad will never let me live that down." Aeris rolled over to face him.

"Leo, there is a girl in your bed, snuggling with you, not wearing a shirt. I suggest you relax and enjoy it," she said before rolling back over and snuggling with her pillow. A very concerned look suddenly graced Leo's face.

"Aeris, you're not... _you know..._ are you?_"_ asked Leo in a quiet tone. Aeris just giggled and turned over a bit to face Leo.

"No," she assured. "You're safe." Leo breathed a quiet sigh of relief and lay back down, followed by Aeris. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, making her blush heavily, made sure his alarm was set and laid back down. They said their good-nights and snuggled under the covers.

"I love you," Leo mumbled. Aeris turned over a bit.

"What?"

"Nothing," Leo replied, holding Aeris tighter. She grinned slyly, having heard what he said.

"I love you too," she responded back, almost teasingly. He felt himself blush heavily, holding Aeris closer as they slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Leo gave his alarm clock a swift smack as it emitted a harsh buzzing noise that had awakened him from his most restful sleep all week. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, groaning quietly. He looked at his alarm clock; it was only 6:30. _Weird, _Leo thought. _I remember setting it for 8... but that means..._ His ears drooped at the thought. "Shit," he said quietly. Aeris rolled over, stretching her arms and sighing.

"Mm... what time is it?" she asked groggily. Leo looked over at Aeris, then back at the clock.

"6:30," he responded. "But I set my alarm for 8.. didn't I?" Aeris nodded tiredly. "Well, that means someone else must have set it for earlier..." Aeris, who was still half-asleep, continued looking at Leo with the same expression.

"Mhmm," she said. "What are you talking about?"

"Someone came into my room," he said. Aeris's eyes widened a bit more. "Do you think they saw us?"

"Of course they did," Aeris said back. "This...isn't good."

"I guess it isn't bad, either," Leo pitched in. "I mean, at least you kept the covers on... if you'd taken them off, it would have been a lot worse."

"True," Aeris added. "Well, do you want to get up now, or sleep in a bit?" Leo thought for a second.

"We really shouldn't... Don't we have school today?" Leo said. "I already have enough absences on my record."

"How about until 7?" Aeris said, yawning. Leo nodded in agreement, reset his alarm and lay back down. It seemed like they were only asleep a few minutes before the alarm buzzed again. Leo practically punched his alarm clock as he sat up in bed, rubbing his forehead. He looked over at Aeris, who was still sound asleep, and gave her shoulder a gentle shove.

"Wake up," he said quietly. This effort was responded to with a quiet "nyeh" and Aeris snuggling her pillow closer. He shook her again. "We're gonna be late for school, get up." She sighed and rolled over, looked at the clock, and sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Ugh... Remind me again why we're going to school today?" she said, groggily. Leo clicked the switch on his alarm to 'off'.

"Because, if I get one more absence on my record, I'm gonna get suspended," he responded. "I don't wanna go either, but it's not like we have a choice." Aeris tiredly nodded, rubbing her eyes again. She reached over and grabbed her shirt while Leo got out of bed and turned his light on. It then occurred to him that they had only thirty minutes to get ready and eat breakfast before the bus came. This put him in panic-mode as he raced to get his clothes on.

"What's your hurry, Leo?" asked Aeris while Leo hopped around the room on one foot, trying to tie his shoe.

"We only have 30 minutes before the bus gets here," he replied in a rush, having finally tied his shoe. "We have to be quick." Aeris didn't quite understand why this was such a big deal. Then again, she was a rather quick eater – it took her all of 10 minutes to make and eat breakfast. She decided to take a quick shower before she ate breakfast, and walked into the bathroom. Leo put some pajama pants and a T-shirt on, and headed into the living room. When he walked in, his mom was already awake and cooking breakfast again.

"Morning, Mom," he said, groggily. "How come you're making breakfast again?" She turned around and shrugged.

"I dunno," she said, stirring some eggs in a skillet. "I was awake and bored, and I figured, why not?"

"I guess you have a point there," he said as he sat down on the couch. "How much longer till it's ready?"

"Not much longer," she said, taking some eggs off the skillet. "About 15 minutes."

"All right," he said as he walked into the kitchen and poured a glass of milk. "Aeris is in the shower, she'll be here in a bit." His mom nodded as she put some more bacon on the stove.

"So how'd you sleep?" she asked, trying to break the silence. Leo shrugged.

"Not too well," he said before taking a sip of milk. "I took a painkiller before bed, and it wore off around 4:30. Couldn't really sleep after that."

"You sure looked like you were sleeping well," his mom said with a sly grin. Leo nearly spit out his milk.

"Heheh... I was wondering how my alarm got set back," he said, nervously.

"Mm," she said, flipping bacon. "Pardon my asking, but is there...something going on between you two?" Leo choked on his milk a bit, spitting some on the counter.

"No! Of cou-*cough* course not," he choked out between coughs as he searched for a paper towel.

"Leo, you can tell me," she said. "I don't have a problem with it."

"I figured you wouldn't," Leo said, wiping up the milk from the counter.

"Well, then, why is it such an issue?" she said, taking some bacon off the skillet.

"I-I dunno... I guess I wanted to keep it secret for a little," he explained. "You know, until things got a little...more serious." His mom's ears perked up at the mention of 'more serious', and she turned to face him.

"Leo," she began, "do you actually _plan_ on getting more serious? I mean.. you're already sleeping in the same bed, hanging out everywhere... How much more serious can you get?"

"That's not what I meant," Leo replied. "It's just that-.." His thought was interrupted by Aeris walking in.

"You ready, Leo?" she asked in a slightly enthusiastic tone. Leo flinched a bit.

"Uh, yeah..." He checked his watch. "I think I'm going to take a shower first. I got time." He turned around to face his mom. "Can we talk about this later?" She nodded.

"I'm gonna hold you to it," she said, putting more bacon on the skillet. Leo nodded and walked down the hall, into his bedroom, and into his bathroom.


End file.
